Introduction
youtube-dl is a free and open source download manager for video and audio from YouTube and over 1,000 other video hosting websites. It is released under the Unlicense software license, which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
youtube-dl is a command-line program that requires the Python interpreter to run. It is not platform specific, and should work on your Windows, Mac, or Linux system. It can download videos in various formats and resolutions, as well as audio tracks, subtitles, annotations, thumbnails, and more. It can also convert videos to different formats using FFmpeg or other external tools.
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youtube-dl is useful for many purposes, such as:
Downloading videos for offline viewing or backup
Downloading videos for fair use purposes such as education, research, criticism, or parody
Downloading videos for personal enjoyment or entertainment
Downloading audio tracks or playlists for listening or podcasting
Downloading subtitles or captions for accessibility or translation
In this article, I will show you how to install and use youtube-dl to download videos from YouTube in MP4 format. I will also show you some of the features and alternatives of youtube-dl that you may find useful.
Installation
There are several ways to install youtube-dl on your system. The preferred way is to use pip, a package manager for Python. You can also download an executable file for Windows or use a package manager for Mac or Linux. Here are the steps for each method:
Using pip
To install youtube-dl using pip, you need to have Python installed on your system. You can check if you have Python by typing python --version in your terminal or command prompt. If you don't have Python, you can download it from .
Once you have Python installed, you can install youtube-dl by typing pip install --upgrade youtube-dl in your terminal or command prompt. This command will also update youtube-dl if you have already installed it.
Using Windows executable
If you are using Windows, you can download an executable file from . You can place the file in any location on your PATH except for %SYSTEMROOT%\\System32. For example, you can put it in C:\\Windows or C:\\Users\\YourName\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\Python\\Python39\\Scripts.
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Using package manager
If you are using Mac or Linux, you can install youtube-dl using a package manager such as Homebrew or MacPorts for Mac or apt or yum for Linux. For example, you can type brew install youtube-dl on Mac or sudo apt install youtube-dl on Ubuntu Linux. However, these versions may be outdated due to the fast pace of updates from youtube-dl.
Configuration
youtube-dl has many options and parameters that you can use to customize your downloads. You can view the full list of options by typing youtube-dl --help in your terminal or command prompt. Some of the most common options are:
--format or -f
This option allows you to specify the format of the video or audio you want to download. You can use a format code, such as mp4 or webm, or a format specifier, such as best or worst. You can also use a combination of formats, such as bestvideo+bestaudio or bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]. You can view the available formats for a video by typing youtube-dl -F URL, where URL is the video URL.
--output or -o
This option allows you to set the name and location of the downloaded file. You can use a simple filename, such as video.mp4, or a template with variables, such as %(title)s.%(ext)s. You can also use a directory name, such as C:\\Videos\\, to save the file in that folder. You can view the list of variables by typing youtube-dl --help.
--extract-audio or -x
This option allows you to download only the audio track of a video and convert it to a specified format. You can use an audio format code, such as mp3 or aac, or an audio quality specifier, such as best or worst. You can also use the --audio-format and --audio-quality options to set the format and quality separately.
Usage
To use youtube-dl, you need to provide the URL of the video or playlist you want to download. You can also provide multiple URLs separated by spaces. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl youtube-dl youtube-dl
You can also use the options mentioned above to customize your downloads. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl -f mp4 youtube-dl -o "C:\\Videos\\%(title)s.%(ext)s" youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3
You can also use a text file to provide a list of URLs to download. You can create a file with one URL per line and use the -a or --batch-file option to specify the file name. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl -a videos.txt
You can also use standard input to provide URLs by using the - symbol. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl -f mp4 -
And then paste or type the URLs in the terminal or command prompt.
Features
youtube-dl has many features that make it more than just a download manager. Some of these features are:
SponsorBlock
SponsorBlock is a feature that allows you to skip sponsored segments in YouTube videos, such as intros, outros, ads, promotions, etc. It uses a crowdsourced database of timestamps submitted by other users who have watched the same video. To enable this feature, you need to use the --sponsorblock-mark all option. You can also choose which categories of segments to skip by using the --sponsorblock-categories option. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl --sponsorblock-mark all --sponsorblock-categories intro,outro 4w9WgXcQ
This will skip the intro and outro segments of the video, if they are marked by other users. You can also use the --sponsorblock-remove option to remove the segments from the downloaded file.
Format sorting
Format sorting is a feature that allows you to sort the available formats of a video by various criteria, such as size, bitrate, resolution, etc. You can use the --format-sort option to specify the criteria and the order of sorting. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl --format-sort filesize,ext,resolution
This will sort the formats by filesize in ascending order, then by extension in alphabetical order, then by resolution in descending order. You can also use the -S or --format-sort option to specify a custom sorting function. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl -S "filesize * height"
This will sort the formats by the product of filesize and height in ascending order. You can use any arithmetic or logical operators and any format attributes in your custom function.
Metadata editing
Metadata editing is a feature that allows you to modify the metadata of the downloaded file, such as title, artist, album, genre, etc. You can use the --postprocessor-args option to pass arguments to FFmpeg or other external tools that can edit metadata. For example, you can type:
youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3 --postprocessor-args "-metadata artist=Rick Astley"
This will download the audio track of the video and set the artist metadata to Rick Astley. You can use any FFmpeg metadata options or other post-processing arguments in your command.
Alternatives
youtube-dl is not the only tool that can download videos from YouTube and other websites. There are many alternatives that have similar or different features and interfaces. Some of these alternatives are:
ytdl-gui
ytdl-gui is a graphical user interface for youtube-dl that makes it easier to use for beginners or users who prefer a visual interface. It has a simple and intuitive design that allows you to enter URLs, choose formats, set options, and start downloads with a few clicks. It also has a built-in video player and a download queue manager. You can download ytdl-gui from .
yt-dlp
yt-dlp is a fork of youtube-dl that aims to provide more features and faster updates than the original project. It has many improvements and additions, such as better format selection, faster downloads, SponsorBlock integration, live stream recording, and more. It is compatible with most youtube-dl options and supports all the same websites. You can download yt-dlp from .
JDownloader 2
JDownloader 2 is a download manager that can download videos from YouTube and other websites as well as files from various file hosting services. It has a powerful link grabber that can detect and capture links from your clipboard, browser, or other sources. It also has many features such as bandwidth control, captcha recognition, archive extraction, password management, and more. You can download JDownloader 2 from .
Conclusion
In this article, I have shown you how to use youtube-dl, a powerful command-line tool for downloading videos from YouTube and other websites. I have also shown you some of the features and alternatives of youtube-dl that you may find useful.
I hope you have enjoyed this article and learned something new. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
FAQs
How do I update youtube-dl?
You can update youtube-dl by using the same method you used to install it . For example, if you used pip, you can type pip install --upgrade youtube-dl. If you used an executable file, you can download the latest version from the youtube-dl website and replace the old file. If you used a package manager, you can use the update command for that manager.
How do I download videos from other websites besides YouTube?
youtube-dl supports over 1,000 video hosting websites, such as Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, TikTok, and more. You can use the same commands and options as you would for YouTube videos, just replace the URL with the one from the website you want to download from. You can view the list of supported websites by typing youtube-dl --list-extractors.
How do I download videos that require authentication or login?
youtube-dl can download videos that require authentication or login by using the --username and --password options to provide your credentials. For example, you can type youtube-dl --username yourname --password yourpass URL. You can also use the --cookies option to provide a cookie file that contains your login session. For example, you can type youtube-dl --cookies cookies.txt URL.
How do I download videos that are age-restricted or region-locked?
youtube-dl can bypass some of the age-restriction or region-locking mechanisms by using the --age-limit or --geo-bypass options. For example, you can type youtube-dl --age-limit 18 URL to download videos that are marked as 18+ or adult. You can also type youtube-dl --geo-bypass URL to download videos that are not available in your country. However, these options may not work for all videos or websites.
How do I download videos that are part of a series or a channel?
youtube-dl can download videos that are part of a series or a channel by using the --playlist-start, --playlist-end, or --playlist-items options to specify which videos to download. For example, you can type youtube-dl --playlist-start 1 --playlist-end 10 URL to download the first 10 videos of a playlist. You can also type youtube-dl --playlist-items 1,3,5 URL to download the first, third, and fifth video of a playlist.
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